# The Rick Perry for President Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 14, 2011, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rick-perry-for-president-thread/592720 "2011-08-14T20:51:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rick-perry-for-president-thread/592720/121 "2011-08-20T04:50:50Z")
Some of them I think are red meat for the base (low-cost positions to take, since a DOMA amendment or abortion amendment would never have a chance to pass 3/4 of the states). Others, like a balanced budget amendment or repeal of the federal income tax (maybe in favor of something like a VAT tax) could be worth discussing. So it’s a political question, just like everything else. There’s nothing inherently “Ooook!” about “oh noes, he wants to change our holy Constitution!” ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rick-perry-for-president-thread/592720/122 "2011-08-20T10:33:06Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > There’s nothing inherently “Ooook!” about “oh noes, he wants to change our holy Constitution!” I think there is when a candidate proposes wholesale change or repeal of seven amendments. Changing the Constitution should be a very rare thing, not a means for institutionalizing one party’s talking points. Oook. ---
**Author:** ![Belowjob2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rick-perry-for-president-thread/592720/123 "2011-08-20T14:15:42Z")
It’s almost as if Perry’s a stealth Obama operative. An unelectable candidate sows massive intra-party dissension by separating the base from the establishment. If the Pubbies can win in 2012, they can win with Romney. Why throw away general election votes they could have gotten with a more moderate candidate? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rick-perry-for-president-thread/592720/124 "2011-08-20T14:21:25Z")
> [@Belowjob2.0](#): > > It’s almost as if Perry’s a stealth Obama operative. > > An unelectable candidate sows massive intra-party dissension by separating the base from the establishment. > > If the Pubbies can win in 2012, they can win with Romney. Why throw away general election votes they could have gotten with a more moderate candidate? Because 2008 put them off nominating the “electable” cndidate, so they are going with batshit crazy. _Exxcccelllent!_ ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rick-perry-for-president-thread/592720/125 "2011-08-20T14:23:05Z")
Well, it’s okay that he wants to make several amendments. The trouble is, his particular amendments create more problems then they solve. If he had seven _rational_ amendments, no problem. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rick-perry-for-president-thread/592720/126 "2011-08-20T14:32:04Z")
Constitutional amendments should protect individual rights, and limit the power of government. Same sex marriage ban and abortion ban amendments do the opposite, by reducing freedom and increasing the power of government. Very odd positions for conservatives who claim to support the original interpretation of the Constitution. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rick-perry-for-president-thread/592720/127 "2011-08-20T15:17:06Z")
I’m sure they have no trouble internally reconciling it. ---
**Author:** ![tracy1963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@tracy1963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracy1963)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rick-perry-for-president-thread/592720/128 "2011-08-20T17:16:47Z")
> [@Shayna](#): > > [Ladies and Gents… The Real Rick Perry](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/08/13/1006527/-LADIES-AND-GENTS-THE-REAL-RICK-PERRY) > \*He had no problem as he handed out $16 million in taxpayer dollars from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund to companies tied to his top political contributors… the public corruption scandal showed that he gave his “close friend” and campaign contributor David Nance a $4.5 million handout, despite the fact that Nance side-stepped two review boards to receive it. > > He feels that it was absolutely fine when he covered-up and refused to answer ethics complaints involving more than $1 million in potentially illegal state expenditures. One complaint zeroed in on the $816,000 in campaign dollars, reported in lump sums, for what Perry calls “mansion expenses.” For months, Perry reported a flat monthly expense ranging from $3,000 or $6,500 as “mansion expenses” without any supporting detail – a violation of campaign disclosure laws. The expenses were for Perry’s $10,000-a-month taxpayer funded rental mansion. Additionally, Perry failed to disclose $204,400 in debt on his College Station home from 2007-2009.\* > [Rick Perry and the Myth of the ‘Texas Miracle’](http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2011/08/12/Rick-Perry-and-the-Myth-of-the-Texas-Miracle.aspx#page1) > \*“We keep adding jobs while others are losing them left and right,” he told the Republican Leadership Conference during its mid-June meeting in New Orleans… > > There’s just one problem with that portrayal. While Texas has created more jobs than any other state in the past two years, the increase is far less than advertised. The rate of increase is not much higher than a number of other states, including former rustbelt centers like Pennsylvania or liberal sanctuaries like Vermont. > > Moreover, its recent performance is a classic case of “all hat, no cattle.” Texas lost 34,000 jobs in June, causing its unemployment rate to jump to 8.2 percent, which ranks it 25th among states and leaving it worse off than its immediate neighbors. > > [W]hile state and local governments nationwide have eliminated over 400,000 jobs in the past year, government employment in Texas actually grew. There are now 1.66 million state and local government employees in Texas, an increase of 66,000 in the past two-and-a-half years… > > [Texas has] strong advanced technology sectors, including semiconductors centered in Austin and aeronautics centered in Dallas. “We’re cheaper than Silicon Valley for advanced technology because a professional’s salary goes a lot further in a state without a state income tax,” he said. > > Yet that didn’t help Texas avoid losing 132,000 manufacturing jobs or 14 percent of the total between the onset of the recession and December 2009. Since the recovery began, the state has regained only 11,000 of those jobs. The information technology sector also remains well below its pre-recession peaks.\* > [Rick Perry tries to intimidate a State Trooper](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8CvXIY6mgk) to get out of a warning for his driver going 20 miles an hour over the speed limit (dash cam video). > > [Prayer Rally Dwarfed By Texans Who Flock To Nearby Convention Center, Desperate For Free School Supplies](http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/08/08/290973/prayer-rally-school-supplies/) > \*Houston’s biggest gathering on Saturday didn’t see national television news crews. It didn’t draw out protestors. It didn’t spark its own Twitter handle. And the event — which attracted an estimated 100,0000 people to a convention center just seven miles down the road from Gov. Rick Perry (R) and The Response prayer rally — had nothing to do with religion and everything to do with Texas families struggling through hard economic times. > > “Some families camped out for hours to gain admittance into Houston’s first-ever, citywide back-to-school event at George R. Brown Convention Center, where free backpacks, school supplies, uniforms, haircut vouchers, immunizations, and fresh produce were provided [by private industry]… > > Only a few miles down the road from Jones, her governor prayed alongside 30,000 people for all those “who have lost hope.” He did not see fit to mention either the thousands of his constituents lined up for free back-to-school items or the multi-million dollar cuts his budget will inflict upon the Texas education system.\* > > [Don’t Believe the Hype. Meet the Real Rick Perry](http://www.rlc.org/2011/08/12/texas-rlc-sends-out-warning-on-rick-perry/) > **Republican Liberty Caucus of Texas Sends Warning to Republicans Nationwide About Perry’s Tax and Spend Record** > > _Texas Governor Rick Perry may be the flavor of the day for a lot of Republicans, but Texas Republicans who are familiar with his record are a lot less enthusiastic about his presidential run. “Perry has a unique talent for finding new ways to raise taxes and loves to use taxpayer money to subsidize his business cronies,” says Secretary Dave Nalle of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Texas. “His supposed belief in limited government and states rights conveniently disappears whenever it conflicts with the demands of the special interests and corporate cronies who he serves.”_ > So. Any supporters here? I’ve lived in Texas my entire life and I have never supported Rick Perry. The man is a true phony with dreams of leading our country…but I don’t want that at all. This particular post mirrors my opinions quite well. I know several people who would have lost their land to his Corridor plans and they despise him more than I do. ---
**Author:** ![humanafterall](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/humanafterall/32/19654_2.png) [@humanafterall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/humanafterall)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rick-perry-for-president-thread/592720/129 "2011-08-21T05:22:59Z")
He is a member and supporter of what is known as the [New Apostolic Reformation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Apostolic_Reformation) movement, which does away with the notion of a secular government, and can most aptly be described as the American Taliban, because they are in the purest sense, religious extremists. Their objective is something called the Seven Mountains of American Society. They are Family, Religion, Arts and entertainment, Media, Education Government and Business. They wish to take over America in Christianity’s name . Two pastors involved in this movement came to Rick Perry’s office, telling him that he was part of a chain of prophecies, and that Texas was the “Great Prophet State”. God had told them that Perry would help to usher in the Kingdom of God in the USA. I can only imagine what they might do if they succeed in their designs. They have Prayer Warriors that ride around and do things that would make even the most conservative evangelicals turn away in disgust. I can already see camps where they attempt to “save” Pro-Choicers, Freemasons, Homosexuals, Jews, Muslims,and anbody else they don’t like. They would throw out the Constitution and replace it with the Leviticus Laws. The Head of Church would be the Head of State. Marsha West is right. They are a “Damnable heresy”. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rick-perry-for-president-thread/592720/130 "2011-08-21T05:30:08Z")
oh noes! ---
**Author:** ![humanafterall](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/humanafterall/32/19654_2.png) [@humanafterall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/humanafterall)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rick-perry-for-president-thread/592720/131 "2011-08-21T05:38:11Z")
I refuse to vote for an extremist of any kind. Social, religious, political, whatever. These guys sit right in with the Westboro Baptist Church. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rick-perry-for-president-thread/592720/132 "2011-08-21T14:05:23Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > We don’t really need to have a George Bush debate, I did that on these boards for about 8 years. That’s a minor part of the discussion, I’m sure there are past Presidents you really like that I really hate. The key point was I’m saying Perry would be a very bad President. The Dems would love another George Bush debate. Fortunately, four years later, more voters will have a realistic idea of what a clean, articulate, community organizer from Chicago is capable of. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rick-perry-for-president-thread/592720/133 "2011-08-21T14:26:29Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > The Dems would love another George Bush debate. > > Fortunately, four years later, more voters will have a realistic idea of what a clean, articulate, community organizer from Chicago is capable of. Instead, what the voters have a realistic idea of, is what an obstructive Republican party can accomplish when they abandon what is good for the country in a single minded jihad for what is good for their party. We don’t need to summon Bush II when we have Republican leadership saying their number one job is to make Obama a one term president, even if it ruins the economy and makes life miserable for millions of Americans. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rick-perry-for-president-thread/592720/134 "2011-08-21T17:22:16Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > We don’t need to summon Bush II when we have Republican leadership saying their number one job is to make Obama a one term president, even if it ruins the economy and makes life miserable for millions of Americans. Which Republican leaders have said that? Names and precise quotes, please. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rick-perry-for-president-thread/592720/135 "2011-08-21T17:42:55Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Which Republican leaders have said that? Names and precise quotes, please. Mitch McConnell for one: > [@](#): > > The Kentucky Republican, appearing on Laura Ingraham’s program, repeatedly pointed to the political toll that congressional Republicans endured during the mid-'90s when they squared off against then-President Bill Clinton over government spending. > > “[W]e knew shutting down the government in 1995 was not going to work for us. It helped Bill Clinton get reelected. I refuse to help Barack Obama get reelected by marching Republicans into a position where we have co-ownership of a bad economy,” McConnell said. “It didn’t work in 1995. What will happen is the administration will send out notices to 80 million Social Security recipients and to military families and they will all start attacking members of Congress. That is not a useful place to take us. And the president will have the bully pulpit to blame Republicans for all this disruption.” > **[Mitch McConnell: 'I Refuse To Help Obama Reelection'](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mcconnell-on-his-debt-cei_n_897124)** > > Mitch McConnell: 'I Refuse To Help Obama Reelection' ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rick-perry-for-president-thread/592720/136 "2011-08-21T17:46:19Z")
And, [in clearer terms](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/29/AR2010102907405.html): [QUOTE=McConnell] “The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.” [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rick-perry-for-president-thread/592720/137 "2011-08-21T17:59:59Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > Mitch McConnell for one: > > [McConnell Debt Ceiling Strategy: 'I Refuse To Help Obama Reelection' | HuffPost Latest News](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/13/mcconnell-on-his-debt-cei_n_897124.html) I don’t see anything in that quote saying that his “number one job is to make Obama a one term president, even if it ruins the economy and makes life miserable for millions of Americans.” There is no question that Republicans want Obama to be a one-term president. Has there ever been a time when Congressional Democrats didn’t want a new Republican president to serve only one term? There is nothing new or shocking in that. The problem is with **Fear Itself’s** allegation that Congressional Republicans have stated that they “will ruin the economy and make life miserable for millions of Americans in order to make Obama a one-term president.” No Republican leader I know of has said any such thing. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rick-perry-for-president-thread/592720/138 "2011-08-21T18:33:13Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > The problem is with **Fear Itself’s** allegation that Congressional Republicans have stated that they “will ruin the economy and make life miserable for millions of Americans in order to make Obama a one-term president.” No Republican leader I know of has said any such thing. I never said they did. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rick-perry-for-president-thread/592720/139 "2011-08-21T19:04:09Z")
Glad to have that cleared up. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2011, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rick-perry-for-president-thread/592720/140 "2011-08-21T19:51:36Z")
But if making him a one-term president is in fact their single most important priority, that does imply that they’re willing to sacrifice anything else for it. That’s what “most important” means, after all: Getting Obama out of office is a higher priority than, for instance, sustaining the American economy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rick-perry-for-president-thread/592720.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rick-perry-for-president-thread/592720.md?page=8)